Neutrality: Military Deterrence and Demilitarization - Essay Sample

Introduction

Neutrality is a policy that makes a state or a nation not to engage in a conflict between other countries. These neutral countries enjoy defense under the law of conflict more than the same extent as other non-combatants such as rival civilians and prisoners of conflict. Some countries have demilitarized such as Costa Rica while others such as Switzerland holds armed neutrality which helps to deter violence with a sizeable military while exempting itself from distant placement.

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However, not all neutral countries avoid any distant placement or alliances instead they form an active UN peacekeeping and political alliance within the European Union. Some of the reasons that led the United States to recklessness neutrality and joined World War I are; Germany was attacking neutral United States ships without forewarning and the Zimmerman telegram. These were the two main reasons that made the United States reckless neutrality hence she joined World War I.

One of the major causes for reckless neutrality by the United States was the German actions and diplomatic overture. The United States joined the World War I since Germany was attacking the neutral United States ships without caution while they had promised not to. Germans attacked and sunk the Lusitania ship since they believed it was the one used carry supplies to Britain as well as arms to help the conflict effort. This Lusitania ship was instead carrying American passengers when it was torpedoed killing around 200 Americans, a situation that made President Wilson declare a conflict on Germans hence making America join in the conflict with the Germans as world war 1.

Another reason that led the Americans to join World War I was the interception of the Zimmerman telegram. This interception assisted the Americans with information of the planned alliance between Germany and Mexico. If Mexico could be able to ally, then they would be able to take the United States parts of Arizona, Texas and New Mexico with the help of the Germans. This made President Wilson change his mind from the state of neutrality and declared conflict between the Americans and the Germans (Waldo, 156).

The entry of the United States in the World War I was also to some extent motivated by idealism due to the commitment of Wilson to high minded principles of equality and national self-determination. There was also pragmatic concerns that were taken into consideration. Moreover, most of the allied powers were heavily indebted to American banks and many other financial institutions. However, if they lost the conflict, then they would default on those debts. So it was definitely in the interests of Wall Street for the United States to intervene.

The other reason that forced the United States to enter the World War I was moralistic. The United States saw itself as a beacon of freedom and equality which made them feel that Germany and its associates were at odds with them. The assault on nations such as Belgium and France and other states stood in unambiguous contrast to American deals thus Wilson demanded that the Americans should enter the conflict to make the world safe for equality.

Americans entered World War I after two and a half years of labor by their leader Woodrow Wilson to save Americans outside conflict. The state of neutrality was very robust amongst the Irish Americans, German Americans and Scandinavian Americans including the religious leaders and amongst women in general (Zinn, 76). Before world war I broke out, Americans view had been more undesirable to fight Germany more than to conflict any other country in Europe. Later on the accounts of massacres that occurred in Belgium in 1914 after the tumbling of the passenger liner RMS Lusitania in 1915, American residents came to understand Germans as provokers of Europe.

President Wilson the leader of U.S made an imperative policy decision over the distant activities as the country was still calm and internal frugality was proceeding on a noninterventionist foundation with American banks creating vast lends with Britain and France. These coffers were expended to make purchases of ammunition, resources, and food from and through the Atlantic. In 1917 President Wilson created negligible arrangements for a land conflict and reserved the U.S army on small harmony stability, notwithstanding rising requests for improved readiness, he also expanded the country's fleet (Organski, 130).

Russia in 1917 was undergoing political disturbance following a widespread disappointment over the conflict with the British plus, France was low on credit. Germany seemed to have an advantage over Europe. In 1917, Germany decided to resume the unobstructed marine conflict fare alongside the vessel forthcoming British waters with the aim to make British starve into submission. Germany also built a disclosed offer to help Mexico retain back its grounds that was lost in the Mexican-American conflict through a prearranged telegram that was known as the Zimmerman telegram that was interrupted with the British intellects. Wilson approached one decision and asked the Congress for conflict to bring to an end all clashes that would make the world harmful for equality (Nye Jr, 191).

Zinn, Hoconflictd. A people's history of the United States: 1492-present. Routledge, 2015.

Waldo, Dwight. The administrative state: A study of the political theory of American public administration. Routledge, 2017

Organski, Abramo FK, and Jacek Kugler. The conflict ledger. University of Chicago Press, 2015

Nye Jr, Joseph S. Bound to lead: The changing nature of American power. Basic Books, 2016.